Friction, Baby is Better Than Ezra

Better Than Ezra

Better Than Ezra is an American alternative rock trio based in New Orleans, Louisiana.-Formation and early success:Better Than Ezra was formed in 1988 by its four original members - vocalist and guitarist Kevin Griffin; Joel Rundell, the lead guitarist; bassist Tom Drummond; and drummer, Cary...

's third album. It was released on August 13, 1996. After this album was released, they took the year off in 1997 after touring.

The album's title comes from a television interview with Keith Richards

Keith Richards

Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...

 of the Rolling Stones. When asked how he and Mick Jagger

Mick Jagger

Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....

 stayed together for so long, Keith took a long drag from his cigarette and said "friction, baby." This may also be a reference to the fact that the band had replaced its original drummer, Cary Bonnecaze, between the recording of their previous album and this one.

The album produced two hits on the Billboard modern rock charts: "King of New Orleans" and "Desperately Wanting."
"Desperately Wanting" also narrowly missed the Billboard Top 40, peaking at #48. The third and fourth singles, "Long Lost" and "Normal Town," failed to chart.

Track listing

1. "King of New Orleans" – 4:07
2. "Rewind" – 3:07
3. "Long Lost" – 3:40
4. "Normal Town" – 3:39
5. "Scared, Are You?" – 4:06
6. "Return of the Post Moderns" – 2:54
7. "Hung the Moon" – 3:46
8. "Desperately Wanting" – 4:37
9. "Still Life With Cooley" – 3:58
10. "WWOZ" – 4:20
11. "Happy Endings" – 2:43
12. "Speeding Up to Slow Down" – 4:09
13. "At Ch. Degaulle, Etc." – 2:16 or 6:37
    • "Mejor de Ezra" (3:17) starts at 3:20 on later pressings.

On early copies of the album, the hidden track "Mejor de Ezra" is contained in the negative space before Track 1. Later copies of the album tack this secret track onto the end of the album.

All songs were composed by Kevin Griffin

Kevin Griffin

Kevin Griffin is an American guitarist, vocalist, producer, and songwriter.Griffin formed the alternative rock band Better Than Ezra in 1988. The band had great success in the 1990s with hits such as "Good", "In the Blood", and "Desperately Wanting", and has continued in the 2000s with hits such...

.

Additional Personnel

• Joan Wasser
  Joan Wasser
  Joan Wasser is a violinist and singer/songwriter in the indie rock world. She began her career playing violin with the Dambuilders. She has released three albums as a singer songwriter, the 2006 Real Life the 2008 To Survive and the 2011 The Deep Field...
  
  - Violin
• Peter Holsapple - Piano, Organ, Mandolin
• Anthony Dagrade - Saxophone, Clarinet, Flute
• Jamil Sharie - Trumpet
• Mark Mullins - Trombone
• Matthew Perrine - Tuba
• Lawrence Sieberth - Piano